Taipei, March 8 (CNA) The Consumers’ Foundation on Saturday urged disclosure of the cattle age of beef, if the government goes ahead with its plan to permit the importation of Japanese beef from cattle of any age.
The call came in response to a draft revision regulating Japanese beef imports that seeks to lift the ban on beef on cattle over 30 months of age announced on Tuesday by the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The foundation spoke out against the revision on Friday, saying that “the risk of mad cow disease in Japanese cattle still exists.”
Consumers’ Foundation Executive Director Wu Jung-ta (吳榮達) told CNA via a telephone interview on Saturday that consumers have a right to know and information should be disclosed in full so consumers can choose their purchases with peace of mind.
Chen Ya-ping (陳雅萍), secretary-general of the foundation, questioned the lack of explanation, asking the ministry to detail its reasoning and context for the revision.
She also criticized the ministry for suddenly announcing the revision without releasing inspection results or any other information.
The foundation raised concerns about the possible connection between the revisions and Taiwan’s ongoing negotiations for an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Japan.
If so, it raises the question of sacrificing public health for economic development.
In response to the opposition, the FDA on Friday said that relevant risk assessments and safety reviews have been thorough, and that the World Organisation for Animal Health has classified Japan as a “negligible-risk” country.
On the other hand, the foundation explained that the risk for mad cow disease still exists because there have been more than 10 cases in Japan since the first report in 2001. The disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has an incubation period of 10 years and usually affects cows over 5 years of age, hence the former regulation to only import beef from cattle under 30 months.
Lifting the regulation would potentially expose consumers to infected meat and lead to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human variant of the disease.
The amendments are undergoing a 60-day review period, during which members of the public may submit their opinions.
